Flexible car roof



Sept. 15, 1925. 1,553,926

c D. BONSALL FLEXIBLE CAR R003 Fileq April 5. 1924 Patented Sept. 15, 1925. 1,553,926

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sheets to accommodate themselves to dis or-k. It consists in tortions .ot' the tramew the parts and in the .constnuetien and arrangement of and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, which forms part of this Specification and wherein like numerals reifer to like parts wherever they occur.

Fig. 1 is a plan view ota portion of a rooi conforming to any invention,

Fig. 2 is a sectional View on the 1l l11'$22 of Fig. l crosswise of thecar,

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view on the line of Fig. ;1 through a carline and adjacent portions of the roofsl eets, and

Fig. 1 is a detail View of a sliculd r bolt.

In the present construction, there 'are carlinesA that are supported by the side plates 1 and span the space between said side plates and preferably said carlines and side plates constitute the sole supports of the roof sheets 2.

The carline comprises a main member 3 made of heavy sheet metal, which is prefen ably galvanized. This main member is of inverted channel shape and has horizontal side flanges 4 at the bottom thereof. Inside of this main carline member is an auxiliary member 5 of the same cross section but of considerably less width and depth than said main member. For the sake of economy, this auxiliary member is preferably made of a sheet of black iron, and it is secured flatwise against the undersurface of said main member by suitable rivets 6 (with washers 7 interposed, if desired), whereby said members are enabled to cooperate in taking care of the stresses to which the carline is subjected in practice.

Formed integrally with the rivets 6 on the pa ts h rein fter d scribed underside thereof are a spacer or distance piece 8 and bolt portion :9 of reduced diamto the .eter which is threaded {to receiire a nut l0.

The rivet, spacer and threaded portion are hereinafter referred to collectively as arivet belt or shoulder .bolt. Any suitable loclcn t 11 may be used to keep the nut tight. Lnterposed between the several nuts 10 and the lower offsets ,or shoulders of the [respective sh oplder bolts is a supporting strip .or strips 12 i inve ted ch n l ecti n- 1 Th leng h of ,the spacer 8, that is, the distance tromthe upper shoulder of said shoulder bolt being the shoulder that bears against the under surface of the auxiliary member of the earline), the lower shoulder otsaid-shoulder b lt (b ng the should r against h und side of which the supportingstrip bears), is

imately equal such that :a space 13 appro thickness of .a roogf heet ntervenes between the horizo tal 0E 3 ans- ,carline member and said sheet supporting strip 12.

The ends 114 of the main carline member are bent downwardly without great change of section and are secured to the sub-stencture by horizontal bolts that extend through the side flanges of said main ca-rline member, the side plate 1 got thecar iand'any other portions of ,the structure that may intervene between them. In the particular ,c,ons tm 1ction illustrated, shown passing through the side sheathing '16 of the car, which terminates short of tlretop of the ide rPlate, and also through ,thefdownturned portion of an angular metal fitting 17, (whose top of the side plate and is secured by a vertical bolt 18 passing therethrough) and also through the vertical portion of an angular flashing strip 20 that is bent inwardly over the side plate.

The roof sheets are of heavy gage metal and extend lengthwise from side plate to side plate, being preferably corrugated lengthwise. The ends of these roof sheets have downturned'flanges 21 which lie in the spaces 22 above the side sheathing that intervenes between the side plates and the ownturned ends of the carline, where there is sufiicient clearance to permit the sheets to accommodate themselves to distortions of the car' frame. The side margins 23 of the sheets are offset upwardly, that is, they are bent upwardly and thence horizontally outwardly. The horizontal portions lie in the spaces 13 above-mentioned between the auxsaid bolts 15 are horizontal portion rests on theiliary carline member and the sheet supporting member; and the vertical portions lie between the side flanges of the supporting member and the vertical sides of the main carline member, where ample clearance spaces 24: are provided to permit the sheet to adapt itself to the distortions of the car frame.

By the foregoing arrangements of parts, the sheets are supported along their sides by the supporting plates secured to the carlines, but otherwise the sheets are free to move to such limited extent as may be necessary to accommodate themselves toany distortions of the car frame that are like ly to occur in service. It is noted that there are no perforations in the sheets and that the downturned flanges at the ends of the sheets are counted on to prevent the sheets from slipping crosswise of the car to an excessive extent.

One of the principal advantages of the foregoing construction is the facility with which it may be applied. In applying this roof, the sheets are first placed in position, the carlines (without the supporting strips) are then located over the sheets and in proper relation thereto, and then the supporting strips are secured to the carlines. As the carlines are positioned with reference to the sheets and the clearances required at the sides thereof, inaccuracies or variations in the widths of the roof sheets do not entail the consequences that would be so serious if the carlines were all fixed in place first.

What I claim is:

1. A car roof construction comprising side plates, side sheathing terminating below the tops of said side plates, carlines of inverted channel section having sheet supporting strips secured inside thereof and having downturned ends secured to the side of the car below the tops of said sheathing, and movably mounted roof sheets whose ends have downturned flanges in-the spaces between the side plates and the downturned ends of the carlines, and whose side margins are offset upwardly and rest on said sheet supporting strips.

2. A car roof comprising side plates, carlines having downturned ends which are secured thereto but spaced horizontally from the top portions thereof, sheet supporting strips inside said carlines, and movably mounted roofing sheets, each carline comprising a main member of inverted channel section having horizontal flanges, an auxiliary member of substantially the same cross section rigidly secured flatwise against the under surface of the web of the main member by rivets that have threaded shoulder bolts integral therewith and, extending downwardly therefrom and supporting said strips, and the roofing sheets having downturned end flanges in the spaces between the side plates and the downturned ends of the carlines and having side margins offset upwardly and resting on said sheet supporting strips below said auxiliary carline member.

3. A car roof comprising side plates, carlines connecting said side plates and rigidly secured thereto, each of said carlines com prising a main member of inverted-channel section and an auxiliary member of substantially the same cross-section rigidly secured flatwise against the inner surface of he main member, supporting strips secured to said carlines, and roof sheets extending from side plate to side plate and having their side marginal portions resting on said supporting strips.

Signed at New Kensington, Pa, this 31st day of March, 1924.

CHARLES DAVID BONSALL. 

